Final port for Gulf to Lake Michigan delivery

Got underway from Chicago’s Du Sable Harbor at 0625 headed across 33 miles of the southern end of Lake Michigan.  I had a quick breakfast, prior to getting underway because I was uncertain whether sea conditions would allow food preparation.  Mary is a lot slower in the mornings and was also feeling a bit ill due to eating wrongly the night before at a waterside café near the marina.  Since she was not required for any particular duty, she climbed back into bed as we departed the protected area of the Chicago breakwater.  The lake, while not really rough, was still stirred up a bit with occasional sets of three-foot swells from the northwest working through choppy waters.  The overall effect of this was that Mary did not show her face for the entire four and a half hour transit to Michigan City – she was a bit unwell.

 Along the way, I turned on the radar because I was afraid we may have pinched its cbale when we put the mast back up last night.  Sure enough, it was inoperative.  Nuts.

The weather continued fair with light winds but with a confused sea.  By the time we pulled into Washington Park Marina in Michigan City, the temperature at the fuel dock where we went for a pump-out of the sewage holding tank were quite balmy but dry, quite Fall-like.  After pumping the tank we moved to the assigned slip way over in the area of the marina just behind the tall coastal dunes which shelter it from the wrath of the Lake.  As the day progressed, the winds from the northeast grew in intensity as the air started to become almost chilly.  I was glad we had completed our trip earlier in the day.

 We lowered the mast to examine the multiple-wire radar cable and found nine of ten wires severed.  Luckily, I had brought my electrical repair box and was able to strip, solder, and insulate each of the wires, and I was really relieved when we put the mast back up and the radar worked.  I REALLY was not looking forward to telling the owner that his radar was broken for his coming trip back into Canada.

 Later, when I returned to the marina with the rental van, Mary had recovered from the crossing and had organized the offload of our “stuff” which took us a couple of hours with many full dock carts taken up the very long concrete pier.

 We will meet Ken and Trudy Price tomorrow at 1030 to go over the boat and turn it over to them, but tonight we are off the boat and in a small local motel near the marina, all ready to start the trek bac home via Kentucky where were will transship all of our stuff back into the truck before turning in the rental van and continuing on home.

Thus ends the 1400-mile boat delivery up six major and several minor river systems over the period 29 May to 24 August 2017.  Despite a few aggravating teething problems with the battery charging system and the generator, the boat performed well and will do well for its new owners.  This the final entry for this trip.